


Live from Downtown

by Inkribbon796



Series: Masks and Maladies [38]
Category: Jacksepticeye Fandom, Markiplier fandom - Fandom, Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Birthday Post, Good Uncle Anti, M/M, Masks and Maladies, Parental Affection, Reservoir Dogs (1992) References, Siblings, Undercover Work, mentions of Actor Mark, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21749101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796
Summary: It’s Bim’s birthday, and he seems to be getting everything he wants: more freedom, his own show, and the ability to do things without Dark having such a tight hold on him.
Relationships: darkstache
Series: Masks and Maladies [38]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538131
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	1. I Don’t Wanna Lift Crates

“Cut!” the director called after the  _ “On Air” _ sign turned off. Bim smiled as he walked off set towards Dark who was sitting in a chair just behind the cameras. The producer for most of the shows that ran on the same network that Wilford was on.

Bim had turned to watch Matthias walk away, his eyes almost sparking in hungry, a rather carnivorous smile on Bim’s face.

“What do you think?” the director asked, looking back at Dark and the producer.

“Well, no one’s dead,” the Producer groaned dryly.

“That’s the point,” Dark stood up. “Good job, Trimmer, you should be proud of yourself.”

“Really?” Bim tearing his eyes away from Matthias to smile at Dark. “Thanks.”

Dark looked over at Matthias, “Can you control yourself?”

“Hmmm,” Bim looked over as Matthias left.

Dark snapped his fingers several times close to Bim’s face, “Focus. Nothing is happening to him.”

“Right,” Bim looked like he was about to start grinding his teeth.

“Repeat it,” Dark ordered coldly.

“Fine,” Bim rolled his eyes. “Nothing’s happening to him.”

“Good,” Dark began to walk away, motioning for Bim to follow. “Last thing I need is for the city to start investigating you and find the people on your show are turning up dead.”

“Isn’t that the point?” Bim raised an eyebrow. “To feed people through a meat grinder?”

“Not on camera,” Dark smiled at him. “Anyways, Wil and I have a couple gifts for you.”

“I thought the show was my birthday gift?” Bim asked, already getting excited. “What am I getting?”

“Patience, Junior,” Wil appeared behind Dark, slinging an arm around the entity’s waist. He pulled a small wrapped box out of the Void. “Here’s mine, I noticed your old one was looking a little rough around the edges.”

Bim took the box as the set director called out, “Warfstache to set!”

“Oh, that’s my cue, see you later tonight, boys,” Wilford smiled, the set behind them had been set up to look like his typical interview set. The reporter gave Dark a kiss on the cheek which earned him a small smile from Dark. As Wilford passed Bim he ruffled his hair, getting a distasteful eye roll from Dark and a fond smile from Bim.

“Let’s go, Bim,” Dark told him. “The next show’s about to come on.”

Bim looked back at Wil who was already starting a rather cheerful argument with the director. “Can’t I stay? It’s my birthday.”

Dark was quiet for a bit, and for a moment Bim hopes this was one of the times where Dark caved and just gave him what he wanted.

“I don’t trust Wil on this set,” Dark denied. “He’s shot at me once and I was standing behind the camera crew. Wil has shown a complete lack of awareness on this set and I do not want you shot and killed.”

“He wouldn’t,” Bim defended heatedly, clutching the box closer to him.

“Maybe when you’re better equipped to defend yourself,” Dark answered. “But you’re right, Wil would never knowingly shoot or hurt you. He adores you, Sunshine.”

A question burned on Bim’s tongue, but he didn’t ask it.

“Let’s go,” Dark told him, walking towards the doors. “A live set isn’t the place to hold a conversation.”

“Yeah, sure,” Bim took his time to open his gift, revealing a hunting knife with a curved notch at the tip of the blade, the metal Damascus steel.

“Thanks,” Bim called back to Wil.

Wilford smiled at him, waving over to him before his attention was pulled away. Bim followed Dark before the greyscaled entity could pull him away.

“What do you think?” Bim smiled as they entered the dressing room.

“Dad’s got good taste,” Bim smiled, examining the blade a little closer.

Quietly that door opened and Bim looked up to see a guy who looked like Indiana Jones walked in. Dark smiled, “Ahh, right on time.”

“Hey, Disco Ball,” Illinois smiled as he walked over.

Bim froze, staring at him in confusion and surprise before he slowly started to recognize the person speaking to him, putting the knife back in its sheath. “Illy? You’re alive?”

“Hey, I know you’re eager to kick us all out of the nest, but come on,” Illinois smiled, walking over with a hand on his belt.

Bim paced around him, his smile getting wider, “You got out of wearing the suits too?”

“Only off the clock,” Illinois smiled.

Bim lunged and Illinois stepped out of the way, Dark was already braced with a portal that opened to safely let Bim crash into the backyard of the Manor, instead of all the equipment in the dressing room. Illinois jumped through the portal to land on Bim the first chance he got.

“No fair,” Bim argued as they tumbled around on the line, Dark stepping out of the Void and trying to pull as much of his grayscale effect and ringing as he possibly could. The entity just watching the two of them wrestling with a fond look on his face, more and more of what had once upon a time, been an actual backyard looked like it was supposed to.

“Maybe you should have thought of that before,” Illinois shot back, the two wrestling around on the ground.

Yan came from deeper in the Void to stand beside Dark. She screamed and charged at Illinois, knocking him off Bim. “Don’t worry, I got him.”

“You traitor!” Illinois choked out as Bim jumped on him as well.

Dark watched them for a bit before pulling Bim off his siblings, “Alright, that’s enough.”

Illinois rolled away from Yan before she could accidentally claw him in the face. “Come on,” Illinois grumbled. “I never get to see ‘em.”

“You’ll have most of the night,” Dark promised. “Bim, Anti will be coming for you soon.”

Bim let out an audible gasp of joy, “What did he bribe you with to let me go?”

“Anti and I have certain understandings,” Dark admitted. “That understanding was if Anti was going to keep pestering me about it I was going to rip his spine out of his back.”

“Didn’t work, huh?” Bim kept smiling.

Dark groaned, “I hate him.”

“More or less than Mark?” Bim dared.

Everything went deadly quiet.

Yan and Illinois took an uneasily step away from Bim as Dark just stared at him, the world graying out and the ringing got worse.

For what it was worth, Bim realized what a colossal mistake he’d made the instant that name left his mouth. But didn’t dare make it look like he was anything more than nervous.

“What was that?” Dark reached out and began straightening Bim’s tie, as if he suddenly needed to have his hands doing something.

“I, uh,” Bim choked on his own throat coughing. His tie wasn’t tight, but the uneasily atmosphere didn’t easy the young man’s nervousness.

“Sunshine,” Dark warned, Dark let go of Bim’s tie and setting his hands on his shoulders. “If you expect to ever set foot outside your room again, you will never mention that name again. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,” Bim smiled.

“Good,” Dark smiled back.

“Hey, geezer,” Anti announced as he broke through the Void. “You—”

The glitch demon paused as he looked at Bim. He’d already been carrying a knife when he walked in, but he used it to point at Bim. “Uhh, ye grounded, kid?”

“No,” Dark turned away. “If I see him on the nightly news; however, he will be.”

“Yah know, I’ve decided ‘ta nickname my soul splitter  _ “Little Anti” _ , an’ he loves ye.”

“You have nothing to threaten me with,” Dark reminded him. “It’s an inconvenience and I can always keep Bim home.”

“If old age make yah grumpy an’ boring, someone needs ‘ta exercise me before I get half as old and decrepit as you,” Anti insulted. “How Wilf puts up with ye is beyond me.”

“I have standards,” Dark reminded coldly, then turned and gave Bim a slight smile. “Have fun Bim.”

“Thanks,” Bim smiled at Dark, this time his smile was a little more genuine. “Have fun doing whatever the hell you do when I’m not around.”

“Enjoy your evening,” Dark said as Anti pulled Bim through the portal and back into the dark Egoton streets.


	2. He Says He Doesn’t Tip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Heroes try and find out more about the “newest” villain in town.

Inside the police station, Abe was with a couple of the heroes. The three heroes were all in uniform. Logan had already watched the entire segment. Roman and Jackie, however had not. One of Abe’s contacts had gotten him an early pilot showing of Bim’s show, and it was remarkably similar to the episode that had aired tonight.

“And you can confirm that all show contestants are hale and healthy?” Logan asked after the segment concluded, adjusting his glasses.

“Yeah,” Abe answered. “First thing I checked out. As much as I want to slap the guy as a serial killer, we’ve got no physically proof he was in the city.”

“I saw him with the other villains,” Roman reminded. “My money’s on him being the Dorm 5 Killer.”

“I’d love to take that as gospel, but I don’t think the court’s gunna take a magical out-of-body experience as hard evidence,” Abe reminded.

“We should strive to have multiple pieces of independent evidence,” Logan added.

“However Dark and Wilford found the kid it can’t be that hard to get information out of him,” Roman scoffed. “I mean you said it yourself that you got one of Dark’s Lieutenants on our side.”

Logan tapped his knuckles to his chin, his mouth thinning into a tense line. “As Dark and Wilford’s apprentice, it stands to reason that there will be much heavier security around him than the rest of Dark’s enforcers.”

“Yeah, in case yah haven’t noticed, Dark’s not an idiot. This is the first time Silver an’ I have seen this kid in almost twenty years,” Jackie reminded. “He kept him buried so deeply I thought we hallucinated the whole thing.”

“That might not be entirely accurate,” Logan rewound the recording to the last clear image of Bim’s face. “Amenities and resources to raise a child do not some out of thin air. If your numerous fights with those who can use the Void have proven anything, the objects have to first enter the Void for Dark, Wilford, and Anti to use them.”

“What you thinking, Pocket Protector?” Roman asked.

“How young was the child that Dark and Wilford had?” Logan demanded, looking in Jackie’s direction. While the heroes were talking amongst themselves, Abe was staring at the screen.

Jackie sputtered for a bit, “That was twenty years ago, remember?”

“You must remember something,” Logan responded with exasperation. “Anything.”

“The kid was little,” Jackie answered. “Real little. Couldn’ta been more than a couple of months or something.”

Logic went quiet for a bit. “Detective, I believe you said there were no missing children’s reports before or during that time.”

“No,” Abe didn’t take his eyes off the screen. “But now that I can get a half-decent look at the kid, it just crossed my mind that he looks a lot like Wilford.”

“Seriously?” Roman balked.

“Look, Warfstache is a serial adulterer,” Abe looked back at them. “It’d surprise me more if he hadn’t somehow made a kid with all the married folks he’s banged over the years.”

“That doesn’t explain Dark,” Logan muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Roman asked.

“Just a thought,” Logan summarized. “We might be able to get additional information another way.”

“How?” Jackieboy Man scoffed. “We just gunna swoop inta’ an abandoned warehouse an’ beat ‘em up ‘til they tell us what we wanna know?”

“I need to run tests and stimulations to see if I am wasting our time or not,” Logan evaded, already turning towards the door.

After that Logan tuned the others out as he headed back to the base. It was close enough to the base that it wasn’t too bad of a walk, and it gave Logic time to think and plan. His brain running through possibilities and options.

Logan walked into the base and went to the basement, if anyone tried to stop or talk to him, the logical side didn’t notice. Finally the elevator opened into an impossible big, and impossibly dark basement. Logic stepped out and waited for the elevator to close behind and plunge him into the darkness.

“Logic,” the Host’s voice seemed to purr from the darkness and a single candle was lit in the distance. “Greetings.”

Carefully Logic made his way to the candle, thankfully there weren’t any bookshelves in his path and he made it to the Host’s desk with little incident.

At first Logan wasn’t sure how to start, the Host could see the future, and had probably seen him coming down days ago. “Salutations, Host, I am certain you know why I am here.”

“The Host is aware of many things,” the Host smiled at Logan, his face eerily lit by the candle. “It is astounding to the Host that the rest of the Egos haven’t enlisted his help in finding their Dorm 5 Killer.”

“The local governing body of Egoton have made it clear that your visions do not count as  _ “admissable evidence” _ so we will have to use more standard legal methods,” Logan reminded.

“The Host would like it to be known that the judge is just afraid that the Host will make his affair with his wife’s assistant public knowledge,” the seer dismissed.

“Be that as it may, you are capable of masking your presence in the city,” Logan reminded the Host. “Can you do the same for others?”

“What was Logic thinking of doing with the Host’s abilities?” the Host asked, tilting his head and looking at Logan as if he could still physically see him.

Logan would be minimizing if he didn’t admit that that type of stare didn’t worry him at least a little.

“It is in my opinion that I am the only individual capable of the task,” Logan began. “Bim Trimmer is working with Dark and the rest of the League, he might even be the Dorm 5 Killer.”

“Of that, the Host doesn’t doubt,” the Host dismissed, staring at Logan with a bit less intensity. “Logic wants something from the Host, what does Logic want the Host to do?”

“I need you to help me go undercover inside Dark’s network,” Logan responded. “I need to be so thoroughly undercover than even Deceit or the Duke won’t recognize me. I believe that someone of my skills could be useful to Dark’s army. He has even stated as much. I could also bring useful information back.”

The Host leaned forward, steeping his fingers in front of his face, “How fortunate for Logic, the Entity is in need of a new assistant. He recently turned his old one into a Lieutenant.”

“Good,” Logan nodded, trying not to be nervous.

“If Logic accepts, the Host will not be able to protect him from so far away,” the Host warned. “Once he starts, there is no going back.”

“It is a necessary risk,” Logan reminded.

“But not one Logan need take, they could simply arrest Bim Trimmer,” the Host reminded.

“I have to do this, we don’t have enough evidence,” Logan reminded.

“Fair enough,” the Host smiled, and his hands went up as if he was sitting at a typewriter.

“Name: Logan Thomas Sanders,” the Host began, blood began trickling out of his empty eye sockets, staining his bandages and running down his face.

The Host continued. “Age 30, birthday: April 24, 1989. Attended Stanford University. Double majored in Computer Science and Bioengineering on a full-ride scholarship. He was picked up by the Entity’s talent scouts. After his schooling moved to Egoton in November of 2019, he was enlisted to work for the Entity.”

As the Host began to talk, Logic began to feel different, the world around him graying out, but the Host and his voice was always clear.

Then finally the Host added, “Will periodically return to the Heroes to report to the Host. He continues in his hero work, no one is the wiser, not even Logan.”

With the last syllable, Logan’s world jolted and he found himself at a desk, about five books in front of them. He blinked, as if disoriented, looking around himself. He was tired, his eyes hurt. Probably from staring at Dark’s books all day.

Last thing he expected to use his degree for was to work a dead guy’s books, but it was a five figure salary, and he wasn’t going to complain.

Taking his glasses off, Logan rubbed at his eyes and groaned.

Darkiplier appeared behind him and Logan jumped a little, he was getting better at expecting Dark’s presence and predicting it. “How bad is it?”

Logan groaned, picking up the top book. “You have to stop letting Warfstache kill his contestants.”

“I tried that twenty years ago,” Dark groaned, rubbing at his face. “Once you’re done with that book I need to discuss something with you. Full discretion, as always.”

“Of course, Sir,” Logan put back on his glasses and looked his boss dead in the eyes. The bookkeeper liked to think he’d been hired for his general fearlessness. “I’ll lock these back up and be right into your office.”

“Good,” Dark told him and left, disappearing back into the Void.

Logan sighed and got back to the books in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the words of the Host: “Check”.


	3. You Shoot Me in a Dream, You Better Wake Up and Apologize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anti takes Bim for a night on the town, Wilford joins in.

Anti was cackling as he shook his spray can and fished up the image he was working on. It was a rather crude graffiti piece of Jackieboy Man, cursing as if Jackie could hear him. It was an image of Jackie in a diaper with a glass of milk.

There was a large duffle bag of spray paint cans in between Bim and Anti.

“Hey, kid, hand me an orange,” Anti grinned, “I wanna give ‘im an afro.”

“Sure,” Bim sighed, and held out the spray can.

Anti just looked at him, he took it and looked like he wanted to say something. He even opened his mouth, but closed it quickly.

The glitch demon shook the can, smiling, “So what’d yah do to piss off yer ol’ man?”

“I brought up  _ he who must not be named _ ,” Bim scoffed, and grabbed a grey spray can. “I don’t get why he’s more pissed at him than you.”

“Ehh, he got less pissed at me after I gave yah ta him,” Anti dismissed, trying to cheer up the atmosphere. “He’s gotten soft since. He used ta be a menace ta e’eryone and e’erythin’ an’ it’s so annoyin’.”

Bim bit the inside of his cheek, “You were the one to get them cloned right?”

Anti shrugged, “Yeah, seemed like a funny thin’ ta do at the time. An’ yah should have seen Dark’s face when he first saw ye. It was priceless.”

“Why?” Bim looked over at him.

“Why what?” Anti started making a couple quick swipes of paint to make an afro on his drawing.

“Why’d you clone them? You had to have some kind of a good reason.” Bim kept watching him.

“Didn’t really,” Anti dropped the orange can and took the gray from Bim to start a new image. This one of Dark. “I was more focused on what would piss Dark off more. After I got those screwballs working they were a bit more concerned about the scientific advances or what they could do with Dark’s DNA, and I just wanted the first living one they had.”

“What did they do with the others?” Bim asked glumly.

“Hell if I know, Dark either killed or enlisted the doctors when he found out ye were the real deal, ask him,” Anti was making his spray paint version of Dark with giant eyes, and his tongue sticking out. “It took me five years before he e’en let me get close enough ‘ta see yah again.”

Then he held out the gray spray can, “Here, draw something about yer ol’ man, blame it on me.”

Bim smiled, taking the can, “Sounds great.”

“What are you boys doing?” Wilford announced himself.

Bim jumped, almost spraying Wilford in the face with paint. “Ahhhh!”

Wilford held his hands up, “Woah, woah, Junior, it’s just me.”

“Dad, come on, I don’t need to be babysat,” Bim groaned. “The old man said I could go out tonight.”

The crazed reporter slid over to Bim’s side, “My dear boy, Dark is our chaperone, I’m here to enjoy a night on the town with one of my pride and joys. We’re going to paint the town red.”

“Literally?” Bim smiled excitably, shaking his fists up and down like he was a kid again.

Anti let out a chuckle.

“Only if Dark doesn’t catch us,” Wilford winked.

“Where are we going first?” Bim had almost an ear-to-ear grin, Wilford had an equally wide grin on his face.

“We’ll I thought we could go mess with Google’s data banks and then grab a drink or two, what do you say?” Wilford smiled.

Bim’s gasp was audible from the street, “Can I?”

“You got your ID?” At his father’s question, Bim nodded. “Then no one can stop us. Not even Dark.”

Bim looked at Anti.

Anti scoffed, smiling, “Don’t look at me kid, I don’t babysit, I enable.”

“Let’s do this!” Bim proclaimed with a huge smile, throwing his hands up.

“That’s the spirit, Junior,” Wilford slapped Bim on the back. “Let’s go Anti, I know a nice disco place that has great martinis.”

With that, Wilford led Bim and Anti with him through a portal to go and bother Google first. Before any of them were too drunk to do anything.

They wound up getting back to Dark’s main warehouse at almost 4 AM, the two of them stumbling out of the portal with Wilford, both Bim and Wilford absolutely plastered. Anti still looked sober.

“You should ‘ere what Dar told me after that,” Wilford smiled, his crazed slur even thicker, holding onto Bim around the shoulders.

“What?” Anti smiled.

“He told me to clean my suit,” Wilford laughed

Anti and Bim laughed.

Dark stormed out of his office and just gave the three of them a dirty look.

“Why are you back so late?” Dark looked at his clock.

“Yer boys are lightweights,” Anti told Dark. “Yah should be ashamed at yersef. Wil went down after only twelve martinis.”

“If you poisoned them, I’ll turn your code into a parking meter,” Dark threatened.

“Relax, kid went easy, Wil’s just losing his touch,” Anti dismissed. “S’ probably the old age.”

Wilford peeled himself away from Bim, instead half draping himself over Dark, who rolled his eyes and groaned. “Hey, Darky,” Wil smiled, poking Dark’s cheek.

“Wil, please,” Dark tried to shove him off but Wil clung to him even tighter, almost knocking them both over. “Let go of me!”

“Why would I let go of you, you smell so nice,” Wil leaned his head against Dark’s shoulder. Anti was just grinning at them.

“This is isn’t funny,” Dark told Anti, Bim walked over and hugged Dark.

“Nah,” Anti smiled. “It’s hilarious, I’m adding it to my folder of other great moments yah’ve given me.”

“Delete them,” Dark ordered, Bim trying to move to cuddle on Dark’s chest as if he was three again.

“No,” Anti opened up a portal and backed up through it. “Have fun boys, see yah kid.”

Bim was either too drunk or too distracted to answer him, and Anti didn’t wait. The Glitch Demon escaped before Dark could pry himself free to actually threaten Anti.

“Daaaaaad,” Bim groaned, hugging Dark even tighter. “I love you.”

Dark’s groan was audible.

“I love you too,” Wil answered.

“I knnnnooow,” Bim told him. “I meant him.”

“I know you love me, Sunshine,” Dark told him, combing his hand through Bim’s hair. Damien’s blue soul supplied something he kept to himself:  _ “you shouldn’t” _ .

“Darky, you’re supposed to say it too,” Wilford told him, rubbing his face into the side of Dark’s neck, his mustache tickling Dark’s neck.

“I love you too Bim,” Dark heard Bim suck in a gasp and hang onto him tighter. “Alright you two, bed.”

“Only if you come with me,” Wilford chuckled.

“You’re drunk,” Dark reminded pointedly.

“Then drink some wine, join me,” Wilford complained.

In the end it took far too long for Dark to not only get Bim in bed, Dark already setting things out for him in the morning, and then to dump Wilford in bed, who was attached to Dark like velcro and refused to let go of him.

Unsurprising to Dark, both of them woke up with awful hangovers, Bim refused to leave him room, at least Wilford recovered quickly enough to help Bim through his first hangover since Dark had kept a stranglehold on both his and Wil’s liquor cabinets around Bim and his other adopted siblings.

Dark was in his office with Logan, going through some files when Bim walked in.

“I live!” Bim shouted.

“If you could keep it down, I would appreciate that,” Dark reminded, Logan turning to look at Bim.

Bim froze and looked at Logan, rubbing at his hands and smiling, “What’s your name?”

“Don’t flirt with my staff,” Dark ordered before Logan could answer. “It’s unprofessional.”

“Then quit hiring hot guys,” Bim complained as Logan just stared at him blankly. “It’s not fair.”

“I hire individuals based on skill and the ability to keep their mouths shut,” Dark quipped. “Your infatuation with them is your problem.”

Bim bravely walked up to Logan, ignoring Dark. “So what’s your name, don’t you look like a meal?”

Dark groaned, “Who’s been teaching you that?”

Bim just smiled, “Yan.”

“You’re both grounded,” Dark decided, already grabbing his phone.

“You can’t ground me, I’m an actual adult now,” Bim bit back.

“I’m working right now,” Dark dismissed. “Go talk to Illy and Yan, we’re busy.”

“See you later, try not to mess up,” Bim winked at Logan. “Wouldn’t want you to get served on a silver platter.”

“Bim,” Dark ground his teeth. “Out.”

“Fine, killjoy,” Bim groaned and left.

Logan waited a couple beats after Bim had left and it was clear Dark wasn’t going to say anything. “Back to the matter at hand, Dock 18 is receiving a new shipment.”


End file.
